


The Inventor and the Phoenix

by Kelblue_Fire18



Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Original Work, Robots (2005)
Genre: Alli (OC) as the Beast/Adam, Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Beauty and the Beast AU, Beauty and the Beast Elements, F/F, F/M, Gen, Other, Rodney as Belle, a few gender changes in there, plus imagine Ratchet as Gaston
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-14
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 19,354
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28060971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kelblue_Fire18/pseuds/Kelblue_Fire18
Summary: Rodney Copperbottom is known to be a funny boy in the town; preferring reading and inventing things rather than hunting and finding wives. It doesn't make things better that Phineas T. Ratchet has his eyes set on him to be his husband. His wish for more than a provincial life starts to come to life when Cappy, his longtime friend, goes missing and stumbles across a castle hidden from the public eye, where he finds her locked up in the dungeon.Unwilling to let her suffer a cold death, Rodney trades his life for hers to a young Princess.A devastatingly beautiful Princess cursed to be a Phoenix forever if the last petal of an Enchanted Rose falls.Now, as the days pass by, Rodney couldn’t bring himself to hate the fair Princess, whose heart burns brighter than her stubbornness.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Female Character/Original Male Character, Rodney Copperbottom and Cappy, Rodney Copperbottom and Fender Pinwheeler, Rodney Copperbottom/OC
Kudos: 3





	1. Author's Note/Before we start...

So, um, I've been listening to the Beauty and the Beast 2017 soundtrack...and now I'm working on a Robots/BatB AU. So I asked if I should do it, and I've only got one answer...

/Users/kelsiegray/Desktop/Screen Shot 2020-12-13 at 5.17.41 PM.png

/Users/kelsiegray/Desktop/Screen Shot 2020-12-13 at 5.17.56 PM.png

Fuck it, I'm doing it


	2. Prologue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How it all started...

Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Princess Aaliyah lived in a beautiful castle. Although she had everything her heart desired, the Princess wasn’t spoiled, selfish, or unkind. No...she grew to be peaceful, courageous, and selfless, just as her parents before her. Her castle staff her family, her home protecting the villages below, her heart thriving to help those in need. 

However, her corrupt aunt, a witch, grew jealous of the young Princess’s kindness and sought to rid her of the world for the castle itself. Unwilling to let others suffer at her aunt’s hands, the headstrong Princess battled with her aunt, despite the odds against her. As a last alternative before her death by the Princess’s hands, the witch transformed the innocent girl into a Phoenix and released a cruel spell over the Castle and the people who live there. As days bled into months, the memory of the beloved Princess and her castle faded to no more than a legend. 

One night, during a stormy evening, an old woman approached the castle and offered a rose in exchange for shelter from the bitter cold. Worried about her appearance, yet for the old woman’s well-being, the Princess allowed her in. The old woman’s appearance melted away the moment she stepped in to reveal a beautiful Enchantress. She had seen the goodness in the poor Princess’s heart and how devastated she was due to the curse her witch aunt had enchanted on her out of jealousy. As a reward for her empathy, the Enchantress conveyed to her the rose, which was truly an Enchanted Rose, and a magic mirror that allows her to see the things she wishes. 

The Enchantress correspondingly promised the heartbroken Princess that she will not be hated for her appearance, for beauty is found within. If she could learn to love and be loved in return by the time the last petal falls, the spell that her cruel-heart aunt had placed on her will be broken; but if not, she will remain a Phoenix forever. 

As the years passed, the Princess lost every bit of hope, despite the kind Enchantress’s promise to her, for who could ever learn to love a Phoenix?


	3. A Funny Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Think of the song as from the 2017 movie as you read this chapter. 
> 
> Oh, and I've added some characters from a few movies. If you can recognize them, there will be cookies. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

At the crack of dawn, a certain boy was always up and starting his way towards the little town full of little people waking up to say hello the moment they opened their stores and windows. His first stop; the workshop, where he’d pick up the items he would need for his inventions, then the bookshop to drop off a book he had finished and pick another one to start reading.

Dressed in a white shirt with a baby blue corset that matched his eyes and hair, dark blue pants, brown boots, and an apron wrapped on his side by his belt, Rodney exited his house and made his way towards the town, a basket for the items to be collected around his arm.

“Little town, it's a quiet village. Every day like the one before,” he hummed to himself as he walked to the center.

He was glad to be out before eight in the morning. Because then things would start to be busy. Nevertheless, he was glad to soak in the rising morning sun on his face as he made his way towards town.

“Little town, full of little people, waking up to say…”

As soon as the clock struck eight, the townspeople walked out of their homes, stores opened up, and the marketplace began to thrive with life.

“Bonjour!”

“Bonjour!”

“Bonjour!”

“Bonjour!”

“Bonjour!” One by one, the villagers greeted each other when they stepped out or opened a window.

“There goes the baker with his tray like always. The same old bread and rolls to sell.” Rodney greeted the passing bread seller before he approached the workshop. “Every morning just the same, since the morning that we came to this poor provincial town.”

“Ah, if it isn’t the only inventor in town!” Jack Hammer greeted the blue-haired boy with light-hearted laughter. “Here for the pickup?”

“Mornin’, Jack Hammer,” Rodney beamed. “I’m getting this close to finishing it. It’s gonna do wonders, I know it!”

“Ha, ha, I believe it will. You’re gonna make this whole town proud hopefully,” Jack Hammer handed Rodney the few parts that he had ordered. The young lad was glad to have Jack Hammer as a friend. He was one of the few townspeople who believe in him and encouraged him to invent and read. “And where are you off to after this?”

“To the bookshop. I’m returning this book to Newt. It’s about two lovers in fair Verona,” Rodney replied, beaming.

“Sounds amazing. I’ll see you another day!” Jack Hammer said as Rodney sent one last grin before exiting the shop.

“Look, there he goes. That boy is strange, no question,” some of the schoolboys remarked as they walked up the stairs into the school while watching Rodney heading towards the local pond.

“Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?” The headmaster gave a menacing glare at him, escorting the boys inside.

“Never part of any crowd, 'cause his head's up on some cloud,” some of the older women added as they scrutinized Rodney bound over the rocks of the local pond.

“No denying he's a funny boy, that Rod,” the younger girls sang and moved the clothes they were washing in time to let Rodney pass by.

He had been getting those same looks from the women every day when he came into the town. Not interested in finding a wife or go hunting. Definitely not the norm here. But it’s something he didn’t want to put his mind into yet.

“Bonjour!” One of the villagers greeted Sam Sparks, a young woman with a blonde ponytail and glasses.

“Good day!” She answered happily.

“How is your family?”

“Bonjour!” A shopper with a hat greeted the fish seller.

“Good day!” The man answered flirtingly, not noticing his enraged wife behind him.

“How is your wife?” The shopper turned to leave as the seller’s wife hit him with a rolling pin.

“I need six eggs!” A mother with a whining baby in her one arm and a basket in another pleaded.

“That's too expensive.” A customer complained about the prices.

“There must be more than this provincial life,” Rodney dashed from his cover behind a tree and entered the bookshop with ease.

He sighed with relief once he was out of view, just as Niffler attacked him unexpectedly by jumping from his hiding place and ambushing him with licks on his face. Rodney laughed, which caught the attention of Newt Scamander, who smiled at his friend’s entrance.

“Ah, Rodney!” Newt greeted him warmly as Niffler leaped to the desk and took a treat from a jar on the desk.

“Good morning. I’ve come to return the book I’ve borrowed,” Rodney handed the book to Newt.

“Finished already?” Newt raised an impressed eyebrow.

“Oh, I couldn’t put it down. You got anything new?” Rodney asked, searching through the books on the shelves.

Newt laughed and put away the book. “Not since yesterday.”

“That’s alright. I’ll borrow...this one,” Rodney picked up a book from the shelves.

Newt took the book and studied it with amusement. “That one? But, you’ve read it twice.”

“Well, it’s my favorite! Far off places--” Rodney skidded across the shelves on the ladder until it stopped on the other end. “Daring sword fights, magic spells, a prince in disguise…”

Newt laughed at his friend’s enthusiasm before handing the book to him. “If you like it all much, it’s yours.”

Thrax, Myles Standish, and Lotor were watching through the window until Rodney and Newt were exiting, and the three men pretended to act casual as Rodney passed by them. “But, sir…”

“I insist, my friend,” Newt warmly said.

“Well, thank you. Thank you very much.” Rodney waved goodbye and made his way as he started reading.

“Look, there he goes. That boy is so peculiar,” Thrax, Myles Standish, and Lotor both sang as they observed Rodney. The latter jumped over the jump rope the kids were using with ease and patted one of the kids in the head without looking up from the book as he passed her.

“I wonder if he's feeling well,” Lotor added.

A local dumped water on the rain rail and the water trickled over to where Rodney is headed. However, he was able to lift a store sign, sending the water to somewhere else, as he continued to read.

“With a dreamy far-off look and his nose stuck in a book,” most of the villagers that are watching him sang along. “What a puzzle to the rest of us, this Rod.”

Rodney sat near the fountain as he kept on reading his book. “Oh, isn't this amazing? It's my favorite part because you'll see. Here's where he meets his Princess. But he won't discover that it's her 'til chapter three.”

“Now it's no wonder that his name means ‘helpful’. His looks have got no parallel,” Mother Gothel sang as she, Marishka, Verona, and Aleera watched from the windows of their beauty shop the blue-haired lad passing by them with no worry.

“But behind that fair façade, I'm afraid he's rather odd,” Marishka, Verona, and Aleera both sang.

“Very different from the rest of us.”

Rodney, not even looking up from his reading, walked on the cart that flipped up and hit a customer in the chin just as the latter lifted a bag of rice.

“He's nothing like the rest of us. Yes, different from the rest of us, this Rod,” the whole village added.

At that moment, one of the geese flying overhead got shot and plummeted to the ground. Zach Varmitech went up to catch it with a bag, but the hit goose landed on the stone floor instead. Zach grumbled to himself and placed the goose in the bag before rushing back to a figure with a shotgun.

“Wow! You didn’t miss a shot, Ratchet! You’re the greatest hunter in the whole world!” Zach laughed gleefully.

The figure, revealed to be Ratchet as he stepped out from the shadows, blew off smoke from the top of the shotgun. “I know,” he smirked smugly.

“No beast alive stands a chance against you…” Zach chuckled as he followed behind Ratchet with the bag in his hands. “And no boy or woman for that matter…”

“It’s true, Zachy,” Ratchet remarked as he grabbed Zach. “And I’ve got my sights set on that one.” He gestured to Rodney with his shotgun.

“What, the only inventor in town?”

“He’s the one. My future husband. Rodney’s the most beautiful boy in town. That makes him the best.”

“But he’s so...well-read, and you’re so...athletically inclined,” Zach remarked.

“Yes. But don’t I deserve the best?”

“Well, of course, I mean you do, but what I mean was…” Zach was cut off when Ratchet glared at him.

“Right from the moment, when I met him, saw him,” Ratchet beamed, not noticing Rodney walking by him and Zach. “I said ‘He's gorgeous!’ and I fell.”

Zach tried to catch Ratchet, just as Rodney was walking out of sight. “Here in town, there's only he who is beautiful as me. So I'm making plans to woo and marry Rod,” Ratchet turned away from the pans hanging from the beams in time to find Rodney disappearing into the crowd.

“Look, there he goes. Isn't he dreamy? Monsieur Ratchet.” Marishka, Verona, and Aleera both sang to themselves as Ratchet stomped over to catch up with Rodney. “Oh, he's so cute! Be still, my heart. I'm hardly breathing. He's such a tall, dark, strong, and handsome brute!”

Ratchet was stopped by an item cart that moved forward after a moment. He smirked when he saw Rodney walking through the crowd of the marketplace. Which would be a challenge for Ratchet himself. But there would be nothing stopping him from getting through.

“Bonjour!”

“Pardon!”

“Good day.”

“Mais oui!”

“You call this bacon?”

“What lovely flowers!”

“Some cheese.”

“Ten yards.”

“One pound.”

“'Scuse me!”

“I'll get the knife.”

“Please let me through!”

“This bread.”

“Those fish.”

“It's stale.”

“They smell.”

“Madame's mistaken.”

“Well, maybe so!”

“There must be more than this provincial life,” Rodney sang, holding his book close.

“Just watch, I'm going to make Rodney my life!” Ratchet declared, but the villagers weren’t noticing.

“Look, there he goes. A boy who's strange but special,” the townspeople sang as Ratchet tried looking over them for Rodney. “A most peculiar monsieur.” Ratchet glanced up and smirked when he had an idea and stepped into a house.

“It's a pity and a sin he doesn't quite fit in,” the villagers continued as Rodney continued walking while reading. Ratchet was now standing on the roof and noticed Rodney walking by before running across the roof. “'Cause he really is a funny boy. A beauty, but a funny boy. He really is a funny boy. That Rod!”

Rodney stopped and turned to face the villagers who continued on their way. When they went back to their business, as if they weren’t giving him weird looks, he returned to his book and kept on walking. Ratchet leaped from the roof and in front of him, but the young lad was too busy reading to notice him at the moment.

“Hello, Rodney,” Ratchet greeted.

“Bonjour, Ratchet,” Rodney replied without looking up from his book. Ratchet stepped up around him and snatched the book from his hands, which caught his attention.

“Ratchet, can I have my book back, please?” Rodney answered almost impatiently.

“How in the world can you read this? There aren’t even any pictures in it,” Ratchet complained while flipping through the pages.

“Well, some people use their imagination,” Rodney smirked, folding his arms.

“Rodney, it’s about time you got your head out of those books…” Ratchet tossed the book over his shoulder when Rodney tried to take it back. The book landed on a puddle of mud, and Rodney went to pick it up, only to pout when Ratchet stepped in front of him. “...and paid attention to more important things...like me,” Ratchet smirked smugly.

The three women sighed romantically as they studied Ratchet.

“The whole town’s talking about it,” the silver-haired man continued as Rodney picked up the book from the puddle. “It’s not right for a man to read. Soon, he starts getting ideas and not behaving as a man should…”

“Ratchet, you sure are primeval about specific things,” Rodney remarked sarcastically and began cleaning up the book with his apron.

“Oh, oh, thank you, Rodney,” Ratchet chuckled, stepping up next to him. Rodney only frowned without him noticing. “What say you and I head back to the tavern and take a look at my hunting trophies?” Ratchet took the book from Rodney again and wrapped an arm around him before leading him away.

“Maybe some other time.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Marishka asked the two girls.

“He’s crazy,” Verona added.

“He’s gorgeous,” Aleera referred to Ratchet while batting her eyes.

Rodney was able to get his book back from Ratchet and backed away from his hold. “Please, Ratchet. I can’t. I have to get back and finish my project. Goodbye.”

Zach, who had walked up next to Ratchet, laughed haughtily at the idea. “His little projects! They’re gonna need all the help they can get!” He and Ratchet both laughed before they were silenced by Rodney’s stern look. He had his arms folded across his chest, an eyebrow raised at them.

“Sorry, Ratchet. Your little plan to get me to be wooed by you? Not happening,” he sassily said before walking away. He would have stuck around to see Ratchet’s dumbfounded look, but he was right about getting back home quickly.

He was close with his latest invention.

~~~~~~~~~~

Rodney studied the device in his hands for any errors, ignoring the dreaded thoughts of Ratchet (or Zach, for that matter) following him home. He had devoted his life to make life in the little town better, just like his idol. Ever since he was but a child, Rodney had read every book about him and the greatest inventions he had ever invented. Hell, he never misses an opportunity to visit Jack Hammer’s shop for parts to start working on his inventions, hence why Jack Hammer didn’t mind having him as a customer.

A few taps on the door interrupted Rodney’s focus, and he walked towards the door and looked through the telescope he had made himself. When he recognized a well-loved friend, he sighed with relief and opened the door.

“Cappy! Didn’t expect to have you here today,” Rodney beamed as Cappy entered the home.

“Well, I managed to avoid Ratchet today. He’s been pestering you again, huh?” Cappy, a young woman with black hair and espresso skin, implied.

“Oh, yeah. He’s been a pain today,” Rodney rolled his eyes at the thought of Ratchet courting him. Cappy nodded in understanding.

She was the first person to befriend Rodney despite him being different from the rest of the town, when he first moved here. Ever since his parents had passed, it was just him and Cappy against the world, and he was grateful that he has her as a friend.

“So, uh, did you have a fun time in town today? Apart from Ratchet bothering you?” Cappy asked as Rodney continued to check over his invention for errors.

“Well, I got a new book,” Rodney replied. His smile fell after a second of thought. “Cappy...do you think I’m odd?”

Cappy laughed a bit at that question. “Odd? You? Where did you get an idea like that?” She took a seat beside him.

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s just that I’m not sure if I fit in here,” Rodney shrugged. “There’s really no one else apart from you, Jack Hammer, and Newt, that I can talk to.”

“Well, I’d suggest Ratchet, but he is definitely not nice, as if he’s handsome,” Cappy added.

“Oh, he’s handsome, alright, and rude and conceited...” Rodney sighed. “Nah, he’s definitely not for me.”

“Hey, look on the bright side. A young maiden’s going to love you for who you are and not for your looks,” Cappy reassured him. Rodney glanced up at her and beamed. She smiled back at him with a hopeful gleam in her green eyes.

“So...let’s give your invention a shot,” Cappy encouraged him.

“Great. Okay, this is it.” Rodney tapped lightly on the little robot, which opened up at his command. It had utensils at the top and little stick-like arms. “Wonderbot...don’t let me down!”

The little bot squeaked and flew into the kitchen, with Rodney and Cappy following behind it. Wonderbot picked up a few dirty dishes before setting them into the dishwasher.

Rodney and Cappy held their breath for a moment, but their smiles returned. Once the dishwasher was done, Wonderbot picked up the dishes and placed them in the proper places. Placing other dirty dishes in the dishwasher, it squeaked and picked up the utensils that were used before tossing them in the sink.

The dishwasher dinged signifying that it’s done. Rodney picked up the dishes before throwing each one towards Wonderbot. The little bot caught them with ease and twirled them around with its multiple arms. Cappy gently grabbed Rodney’s arms while beaming up at him excitedly. Rodney picked the other dishes from the dishwasher and threw them at Wonderbot, which tossed the other ones in their proper places. It then went towards the sink and washed the other utensils in a flash.

In a matter of minutes, the whole kitchen was all cleaned up.

“It worked!” Cappy gasped with delight.

“It worked? It worked!” Rodney yelled and hugged Cappy by the waist, spinning her around. Unfortunately, Wonderbot dropped the dishes it was holding from Rodney’s excited shouting and fizzed around for a moment before dropping to the ground with a pop.

“Uh...I’ll get to work on this,” Rodney chuckled nervously. At least his Wonderbot worked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blue (me): Well, here it is! The first chapter! And before you guys say anything, no, I do not ship the three brides with Ratchet in this AU. I needed to find the girls to fit these roles. 
> 
> Dracule: Good (turns to Ratchet with a dark glare) And if you even think about trying anything...I will suck the life out of you. 
> 
> Ratchet: (nervously laughs as he backs away) Y-you got it...


	4. Lost in the Woods

Rodney had grown worried for Cappy since she told him that she was going to a downtown fair to watch, because it was through the woods, only a day's journey, just for a few days. It's not that he doesn't have any faith in her, he knows that she can take on anything and anyone that tries to stop her. But because the forest is filled with unknowns, and he was worried that he wouldn't be there for her if she got hurt.

"Promise me if I don't come back in three days tops, you'll look for me?" Cappy had asked Rodney, who had nodded reluctantly. She knew he's worried for her as a friend, and he knew that he can't stop her from going, that going to the fair means so much to her.

"Goodbye, Cappy! Good luck!" Rodney waved as Cappy departed on her horse.

"Goodbye, Rod! And take care while I'm gone!" Cappy called back before she disappeared down the road.

~~~~~~~~~~

She thought the journey was going to be easy, that it was only going to take a day to get there. Unfortunately, with the wrong way she had taken, it became more difficult to navigate through the woods. To make matters more complicated, night started to roll around, and Cappy was sure wolves would be out to search for their next meal.

"I should have been there by now. Maybe I missed a turn. Guess I should have taken the..." Cappy stopped her horse when they came across a few signs pointing at a few other roads. "Wait a minute..."

Her horse nickered and tried to head the other way, but Cappy pulled on the reins in a different direction. "What if I go...this way?"

The horse nickered with wide eyes at the dark-filled path and glanced at the one he wanted to go on. After a second of thought, he tried to go to the better path, but Cappy pulled on the reins towards the way she had chosen. "Hey, hey. C'mon, boy. It's a shortcut. We'll be there in no time..."

It was something she had told herself and wanted to kept telling herself that, but the longer she headed down that path, the more unsure she was thinking. With her lantern guiding her way through the foggy darkness, Cappy and her horse continued their way through. The moonlight shining through a few clouds was something that she is grateful for, despite the uneasiness in her.

Her horse suddenly panicked lightly and began to back away as howls echoed from behind the trees. There was something there watching them.

"Hold on. This can't be right. Where in the world have I taken us?" Cappy mumbled to herself uneasily.

More howls startled her horse, who nickered with nervousness and terror. Just as they were turning around, her horse bumped into a tree from behind by accident, sending a horde of bats flying through the hole and scaring them further. Her horse neighed terrified and started to run until they nearly fell over a cliff.

"Aahhh! Back up, back up!" Cappy yelled. Her horse thankfully did, but he was still scared of the howls that increased in numbers.

"Steady, boy! Steady!" Cappy pleaded.

However, her horse neighed and accidentally kicked her off of him. Her lantern flew out of her hands and broke, with the darkness returning. Cappy groaned and got up from the ground to find herself alone and trapped in the dark woods.

"Oh, shit..." she mumbled to herself as she dusted herself off. How could she get herself into this mess?

Low growls from a distance forced her to turn towards the source. From the foggy shadows, familiar beasts from the tales appeared, standing by the trees. Her heart plummeted to her stomach. Without a second thought, Cappy instantly ran through the woods, with the wolves not too far behind her.

She couldn't see where she was going, despite the moonlight shining through the branches of the trees, but she wasn't going to stand around and give herself away as a meal to the wolves. Her heart was beating faster as she dashed down through the trees, refusing herself to turn back to see the wolves catching up with her.

She tripped over a branch and fell down a hill; it wasn't a hard fall, only a few inches off the ground. When she glanced up, a long gate stood in front of her. Thunder clapped overhead, lightning hitting the lights for a moment. Cappy glanced back to find the wolves snarling and watching her and didn't hesitate to run towards the gates.

"Help! Somebody help me! Help!" She pleaded as she shook the gates.

The wolves started after her again, but she somehow got the gate open and closed it in time before the creatures can catch her. She scrambled away and got back up from the ground, but stopped in her tracks when she saw a tall castle.

A high bridge led straight to the palace, and the rain started pouring when she made her way towards the entrance. Glancing back one more time in desperation, Cappy knocked on the door before it opened on its own. Stepping in and closing the door behind her, she gasped astonished at the dark, empty place.

"Hello? Hello?" Her quiet voice echoed through the main area.

"Oh, the poor lass. She must have lost her way in the woods."

"Sshhh. Shut up! You're gonna give away our hiding place!"

"Oh, will you just stop it?"

Whispers paused Cappy in her tracks. "Is someone there?" She asked, her now normal tone resonating across the room.

"Not a word, you guys. Not one word."

"Look, uh, I don't mean to intrude, but I've lost my horse and I need somewhere to stay for the night," Cappy explained as she tried to warm herself.

"Oh, Matt, have a heart." A shush followed the third voice before he yelped in pain. "Of course, miss. You're welcome to stay here."

"Who said that?" Cappy asked, trying to find the source. The place was too dark, apart from a candlestick being the only light source.

A tap on the shoulder froze her on the spot for a second. Cappy instantly took the candlelight from the table nearby and nearly screamed at a young woman...with golden eyes, a hint of brown in the orbs, and ears over her brown pony-tailed hair. Her white tail moved behind her, her body dressed in an off-shoulder ice blue dress with bat-wing sleeves. Her skit barely hid her wolf feet, but the young woman tried her best to make herself as peaceful as she could.

However, Cappy's reaction...wasn't something she was expecting. Her expression was astonished, amazed, even. "Oh, my God..."

"Well, now you've done it, Nabel. Splendid, just peachy..." A man with chocolate brown hair, the bangs flipped and swept to the right side, and nut-brown eyes complained as he approached the young woman. He is wearing a half-open dirt brown vest with a white shirt and pants. He has ears on his head, feet, and a tail as well but in the form of a coyote.

Cappy studied his form still astounded and took a look at his tail, but the man, now known as Matt, cleared his throat and held it away from her grasp. "Hey! Hands off the merchandise, if you don't mind!"

"I-I beg your pardon," Cappy apologized. "It's just that I never had seen--" She was stopped when she instantly sneezed. Matt jumped away in time, his arms up in defense.

"Oh, my goodness. You're soaked to the bone," Nabel sympathetically stated, seeing the drenched state of Cappy. "Come on, let's get you warmed up by the fire. I'll have Josh and Sam get a meal ready," she led the other woman to the sitting area.

"Oh, thank you very much."

However, they didn't notice a winged figure watching from the shadows above before swiftly moving.

"No! No, no, nononononono! Do you know what the Princess would do if she finds you here?!" Matt protested as he tried to stop Cappy. "I demand that you...stop...right...there!" He nearly tumbled down the stairs and steadied himself.

"Oh, no! Not the King's chair!" He gasped as he noticed Nabel helping Cappy on the armchair.

A black-and-white leg-rest barked and dashed past Matt and towards Cappy. "I'm not seeing this! I'm not seeing this!" Matt exclaimed in disbelief.

Cappy chuckled when the leg-rest panted happily near her and petted him in the head. "Oh, hey, there, buddy."

The leg-rest barked and placed her legs over him. A coatrack came up to her and wrapped a blanket around Cappy.

"Oh, what service," she remarked as the coatrack curtsied.

"Okay, this has gone far enough! I'm in charge here! I--" Matt was cut off when a golden blur sped past him with a cart, and he spun around dizzy before falling to the ground.

"How would you like a spot of tea, miss? It'll warm you up in no time flat," a young girl with light blonde hair and golden yellow eyes tenderly said, pouring some tea in a cup. She is dressed in a sun-colored dress with a square neckline and semi-short sleeves. Her wings with the same color as her eyes shone from the fire burning in the fireplace.

"No! No tea! No tea!" Matt demanded from the floor.

Just as Cappy was about to drink the tea, child-like giggling caught her attention from her other side. She stole a peek and noticed a younger child with blonde hair and green eyes hiding behind the girl's dress. She has the same wings as the younger woman but smaller and a bit fluffier.

Cappy couldn't help but chuckle along with her. "Oh! Heh, heh. Hey there."

The door suddenly slammed open, and the fire instantly doused from the wind that broke it open. Sam gasped terrified as the young child hid fearfully behind her.

"Oh, God..." Josh gasped horrified.

Cappy shivered under the blanket, hoping that it will hide her from the person that walked in the area rather calmly. The Princess snarled under her breath as she stepped in, her composure proud, yet displeased. Her wings made the room darker by blocking the light shining from the windows outside the area.

"You let a stranger in here, didn't you?" The Princess growled, glaring at her sister and Sam.

"Aaliyah, just let me explain. She got lost in the woods, she was cold and wet, and..." A dark glare from the Princess prompted Nabel to stop speaking.

"Umm, your Highness, I'd like to take this moment to say..." Matt began as he hid behind the curtain. "I was against this from the start. It was all her fault. I tried to stop them. Will they listen to me? No, no..." Like before, the cruel stare from the Princess scared him back into hiding behind the curtain.

Cappy stole a glance on one side before turning to the other. She yelped terrified when she came face to face with the Princess's flaming gaze staring back at her and scrambled out of the chair.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" The Princess demanded. 

"I was lost and the woods, and--" Cappy stuttered, with fear in her eyes. 

"You're not welcome here!" The Princess cut her off, her stance remaining tall.

Cappy gasped, unable to keep the fear out of her eyes. "I'm sorry..."

The curled woman narrowed her eyes at her. "What are you staring at?"

"N-Nothing..." Cappy tried to deny it, but it was already too late. 

"So, you come to stare at the Phoenix, have you?" The Princess yelled enraged and blocked her way out when Cappy tried to get away. 

"Please, I meant no harm! I just need a place to stay!" Cappy begged, backing away from her. 

"I'll give you a place to stay!" The Princess grabbed her by the front of her shirt and lifted her in the air before taking her away. 

"Oh, no, please! No! No!"

Nabel, Matt, Sam, and the younger girl stood solemnly as the Princess took Cappy away to the dungeons, her cries fading away when the doors slammed shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some questions you're about to ask: 
> 
> \- Nabel is the Queen of the castle, but she's trying her best to help her sister break the curse that their aunt befell on them  
> \- The Gang are Nabel and Alli's best friends since childhood, and their parents took them in when they got older as part of the castle staff  
> \- And Alli may be a beast, but she's not completely heartless. It's just her anger and frustration over trying to find someone who would love her for her getting the best of her


	5. More than Planned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: fun fact, whenever a song comes on, I'd like to imagine it from the 2017 version. Now's a good time to try it. 
> 
> Enjoy this chapter!

Ratchet pulled back a branch for him and Zach to see Rodney’s house.

“Heh, heh. Rodney’s gonna get the surprise of his life, huh, Ratchet?” Zach chuckled, turning back to Ratchet.

“Yep, this is his lucky day,” Ratchet, who is dressed in a red suit, white shirt, pants, and boots, smiled. He stepped back and let the branch go, with the branch accidentally hitting Zach in the process.

It was all going according to plan. Ratchet knew that it was going to succeed well. The cake was all set up, the archway is ready, the guests are all here. It’s going to be perfect.

Ratchet cleared his throat, catching his guests’ attention. “I’d like to thank you all for coming to my wedding. But I better go in there, and...propose to the boy,” he chuckled at his joke. Most of the guests laughed as well, while the three brides wailed.

“And you, Zach…” Ratchet then turned to the black-haired man. “When Rodney and I come out that door…”

“Oh, I know! I know! I strike up the band!” A band started playing at Zach’s command, only to stop when Ratchet slammed a tuba on his head.

“Not yet!”

“Sorry,” Zach apologized.

A few knocks on the door turned Rodney away from his reading. Wonderbot also perked up when it heard the knocks. Rodney set the book down on the table and approached the door. Looking through his telescope device, he groaned in annoyance when he saw Ratchet standing outside before opening the door with a fake grin. Wonderbot flew up behind Rodney and hid behind his body.

“Ratchet...what a pleasant surprise,” Rodney said, feigning surprise.

“Isn’t it, though? I’m just full of surprises,” Ratchet smirked as he stepped towards the blue-haired lad. “Y’know, Rodney, there is not a boy in town who wouldn’t love to be in your shoes. This is the day…” He stopped to check to see any imperfections on his face in the mirror before continuing. “This is the day your dreams come true.”

“Wh-what do you know about my dreams?” Rodney asked, raising a confused eyebrow. Wonderbot growled at the unfamiliar man as it remained hidden behind him.

“Plenty. Here, picture this.” Ratchet slammed his boots on his books, and Rodney tried, yet failed, to hold back his disgust at this.

“A rustic hunting lodge, my latest kill roasting on the fire…” Ratchet took off his boots in the process as Rodney gave a strained smile. “...and my lucky husband massaging my feet…”

Rodney cringed staring at his feet and covered his mouth as Ratchet continued. “...while the little ones play with the dogs. We’ll have six or seven.” Ratchet stood up from his chair, getting close to Rodney.

“Dogs?” Rodney asked.

“No, Rodney! Strapping boys like me,” Ratchet chuckled.

Rodney scoffed and picked up his book before cleaning the mud off. “Yeah, imagine that…”

“Do you know who that little husband will be?” Ratchet asked, walking up to Rodney, who placed his book on the shelf.

“Let me think…” Rodney pretended to think, but he was coming up with a plan to get Ratchet out of here.

“You, Rodney!” Ratchet cornered Rodney, but he was able to duck underneath his arm and backed away towards the door.

“Ratchet, I’m...speechless,” Rodney leaned back against the door, with Wonderbot hiding behind him, as Ratchet got closer to him. “But I really don’t know what to say…”

“Say you’ll marry me,” Ratchet finally had Rodney cornered, his hands on both sides of him.

“I’m very sorry, Ratchet, but…” Rodney started. Wonderbot perked up when he saw the doorknob and started to turn it slowly. “But...I just don’t deserve you,” Rodney finished as Ratchet was leaning in to kiss him.

Rodney stepped to the side in time just as Wonderbot turned the doorknob completely. Ratchet yelped when he fell forward and into a mud pit. Rodney held back a chuckle while waving goodbye as Wonderbot laughed.

The band started playing at Zach’s command, unknowing that Ratchet had fallen into the mud pit. Rodney tossed out his shoes before closing the door.

Zach noticed Ratchet’s butt poking out in the air and halted the band. Ratchet, whose face changed to an angered frown, pushed himself up from the mud.

“So, how’d it go?” Zach asked nervously, only to yelp when Ratchet grabbed him by the front of his shirt.

“I’ll have Rodney for my husband, make no mistake about that!” Ratchet growled and threw Zach in the mud pit before stomping away.

Zach humphed under his breath. “Touchy,” he remarked to himself.

Ratchet stomped away back to the tavern and wiped some of the mud off his face, passing by Rodney’s house. A few moments later, Rodney poked his head out, with Wonderbot following behind him.

“Is he gone?” He asked himself. After finding no Ratchet in sight, he sighed with relief and descended the stairs. “Can you imagine? He asked me to marry him! Me! The husband of that boorish, brainless…”

"Monsieur Ratchet. Can't you just see it?” Rodney picked up a rag from the stair rail and placed it over his head, mimicking a maiden, as Wonderbot hovered beside him “Monsieur Ratchet! His ‘little wife’! Ugh!” He slammed the rag on the fence in frustration.

“No, sir! Not me! I guarantee it! I want much more than this provincial life!” Rodney then dashed towards the hills outside the village. Wonderbot didn’t hesitate to follow behind him.

The hills overseeing the lakes and mountains was a magnificent place to see the whole village, but for Rodney, it gave him more than a view of the little town. It gave him a sight of the adventures he’d been dreaming of since he was younger.

“I want adventure in the great wide somewhere. I want it more than I can tell,” Rodney sang as he stood on the hill. Wonderbot flew up beside him and squeaked in amazement at the views ahead of it.

“And for once, it might be grand to have someone understand…” Rodney smiled at Wonderbot and patted it on the head. “I want so much more than they've got planned…”

The peaceful silence soon shattered when Wonderbot squeaked hastily. Rodney turned to where it was pointing at, only for his face to fall when Cappy’s horse barged through the trees...his saddle empty.

“Hey! Hey, what are you doing here, buddy? Where’s…” Rodney had managed to calm him down and desperately searched for Cappy. “Where’s Cappy? What happened?”

Rodney knew he couldn’t speak horse, but his heart was telling him that she’s in trouble. He had promised her that if she isn’t back in three days time, then he’ll go looking for her. And he’s going to make good on his promise.

“We’ve got to find her. You have to take me to her!” Rodney mounted on the horse and dashed off, with Wonderbot not too far behind him.


	6. Finding the Castle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long
> 
> Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

He was terrified as he traveled through the woods, Wonderbot accompanying him on his side. Not just of the dangers that might jump out at any moment from behind or on the sides, but of the danger that Cappy had unintentionally put herself in and how long she’s been in it. Possibly over a day, since she hadn’t come back. It didn’t ease his anxiety of her safety being put in jeopardy, despite the fact that he found footprints leading him to somewhere. 

It was at that point that he found himself approaching a tall castle, the one where Cappy may be trapped in right now. 

“What is this place?” Rodney gasped under his breath when they stopped in front of the gate. 

Cappy’s horse neighed in fear, but Rodney was able to calm him down as he got off of the saddle. “Hey, hey, steady, boy! Steady…” 

Wonderbot flew over the gate and opened it for Rodney from the other side. The blue-haired lad noticed a blue fabric on the ground and picked it up. Studying it closer, he glanced back up at the castle. 

“Cappy…” 

*****

Meanwhile…

Rodney was not the only one worried about the safety of Cappy. The castle staff couldn’t keep her pleading cries out of their minds when the Princess took her to the dungeons. 

“Ha, ha, couldn’t keep it down, could we?” Matt complained as Nabel sat on her chair, rubbing her brows in frustration and solemnness. “Just had to invite her to stay, didn’t we? Serve her tea, sit in the King’s chair, pet the dog…” 

“Matt, what did she expect us to do, not be hospitable?” Nabel gave him a one-sided glare. 

*****

Rodney opened the door, the sound echoing through the hallway. “Hello? Is anyone there?” 

His voice resonated through the area. The interior of the castle was darkened due to the lack of lighting, which made his fear even tenser than before. Curtains that were closed in front of the windows also seemed like they weren’t giving any light in the area since then. The castle almost seemed as if it was abandoned. 

“Cappy? Cappy? Are you there?” Rodney quietly called as he searched around the castle. No one was responding, but he didn’t want to leave until he finds her. 

*****

Sam looked over her shoulder one last time before ascending the stairs of the dungeon. Her hands held a tray containing some bread, fruit, and a cup of water, her arm holding a blanket with ease. With careful steps, she approached the dungeon door and tapped on the wood with her finger. 

“Here. You never got a chance to eat earlier,” she said, sliding the tray under the tray. “And a blanket to help the cold away.” She then handed the blanket to Cappy, who started eating the instant the tray came up to her. 

“Thanks,” Cappy said sincerely. “But...won’t your Princess be furious if she finds out?” 

“She won’t. Besides, if she does, I’ll explain myself to her,” Sam replied with kindness in her tone. 

“Oh,” Cappy nodded in understanding. “But then...how did you guys end up like this?” 

“It’s a long story,” Sam answered. She soon took the try back once Cappy ate her fill. “I should take this back. I’ll come by as much as I can.” 

“I’d appreciate that. Thanks,” Cappy gave a heartwarming grin. Sam nodded, smiling back, before making her way back to the kitchen. 

When she got there, she set the tray down in the sink, just as a young boy with messy brown hair and fins on his hands and feet swam in through the see-through tunnels above her. She was glad that their friends had worked on building the tunnels for her beloved to swim in for a short time being. An older woman with a huge rear end stepped in with a few dirty dishes and set them in the sink. 

“Oh, Sami. Is the young woman alright?” The older woman asked her. 

“She’s faring. Just growing cold. We were only helping her get settled until she can get back,” Sam solemnly stated. 

“We know, dear,” the woman nodded, a frown on her face. 

Another girl with a platinum blonde bob, her bangs on the left side, stepped in, rubbing the bridge of her nose. She is dressed in a white dress with a dark violet corset and black shoes. Her iguana tail trailed on the floor behind her as she stepped in. 

“Is something the matter, Brittany?” The older woman inquired. 

“Yeah, it’s Lily and Caleb. They’ve been coming up with a wild imaginary story about a man with blue hair in the castle,” Brittany explained. “Must be the sugar in those cakes. I told Josh to not lower the sugar limits, and this is what happens…” 

“A boy!” A yellow robot with brown pigtails rushed into the kitchen, her smile wider than before. “I saw a boy in the castle!” 

Both Brittany, Sam, and the older woman stared at her wide-eyed at her statement. 

*****

“Irresponsible, devil-may-care, ear-scratching, slack-jawed…” Matt grumbled, just as Nabel, still massaging her brow in frustration, was close to her boiling point. 

“Cappy?” 

Both Nabel and Matt stopped when they heard an unfamiliar voice from outside the room. They turned towards the door, just as a young man with a cloak hiding his face passed them without giving them a second look. 

“Did you see that?” Nabel gasped, turning to Matt. The two rushed towards the door and glimpsed out to find Rodney walking down the hallway. “A boy!” 

“I know a boy when I see one,” Matt stated, his hands on his hips. 

“Do you think it’s him? The one we’ve been waiting for? The one who could break the spell?” Nabel quietly asked, excitement in her voice. 

“Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I don’t know what’s getting in that little head of yours, but there is no way we are going to--ahh!” Matt was cut off when Nabel quickly grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along with her. They followed after Rodney, who didn’t notice them trailing behind him. 

“Cappy?” He called again, just as Nabel and Matt approached the door leading to the tower and opened it before slipping through. The door opening caught Rodney’s attention, and he turned towards the opened door. “Cappy?” 

Nabel and Matt were able to hide behind the door before Rodney stepped in. “Hello? Someone there?” 

As he and Wonderbot walked up the steps, Nabel and Matt glimpsed from behind, the brown-haired woman unable to hold her back her wide grin at seeing him. 

Rodney ascended up the steps and analyzed the dungeons. A torch was the only source of light in the area. “Is anyone here?” 

“Rodney?” A feminine voice that Rodney knew well called back. 

“Cappy!” His heart soared with relief. He grabbed the torch as he rushed towards the cell that Cappy was trapped in. 

“Oh, thank God! How did you find me?!” Cappy exclaimed relieved as she put her hands through the cell so Rodney could hold them. 

“Oh, geez, your hands are like ice! We’ve got to get you out of here,” Rodney said as he and Wonderbot searched for the keys to the cell. 

“Rodney, listen to me! I need you to leave this place!” Cappy pleaded to him. 

“Who did this to you?” Rodney asked, confused about her plea. He just got here, why does she want him to leave now? Why is she so scared at the moment?

“There’s no time to explain! You have to go now!” Cappy still begged, ignoring his question. 

“I’m not going to leave you here!” Rodney refused. 

Wonderbot noticed someone from the darkness, golden-blue eyes glaring down at them, and squeaked in terror before hiding underneath the cloak of his friend. That caught Rodney’s attention, and in his horrified state, he accidentally dropped the torch into a puddle. The light died down to nothing more than light from the window above. 

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” The figure, their voice revealed to be feminine, demanded from the darkness. 

“Wh-who are you?” Rodney asked back, refusing to let his tone of dread be shown to her. 

“The Princess of this castle that your friend encroached in,” the female glowered at him through the darkness. 

“It wasn’t her fault! Please, let her out! Can’t you see she’s getting sick?” Rodney demanded, despite the fear in his eyes. 

“Then she shouldn’t have trespassed here in the first place!” The girl argued. 

“But she could die! She doesn’t deserve this!” 

“There’s nothing you can do about it. She’s my prisoner, and she will stay here for the rest of her life for the crimes of trespassing,” the girl told him, her eyes from the darkness piercing through his soul. 

Just as she was about to turn away, Rodney had a last-minute option rush up in his mind. He knew that it would mean getting himself in the same danger as Cappy, but it would also mean letting her go in the process…

“Stop!” He bravely spoke out. Wonderbot stared up at him with wide eyes, still hidden under his cloak. 

As he predicted, the figure stopped in her tracks and glared back at him. He couldn’t tell what her reaction to his order was, but based on the way her eyes were glimpsing back at him, she must be pissed. 

“Take me instead?” Rodney was unable to stop himself, but he wasn’t going to let his friend perish in this cell. 

“You...” the female stopped before her voice softened to a perplexed, yet sympathetic tone rather than a growl. “You would...take her place?” 

“Rodney, no! Don’t do it!” Cappy begged, her hands grasping at the cell bars. 

“If I did, you’ll let her go?” Rodney refused to let his voice shake, despite the fear growing in him. 

The girl hiding in the shadows pondered about the bargain before she spoke up again. “Yes, but on one condition...you must stay here as a part of your promise forever.” 

Rodney squinted his eyes towards the slim figure in the darkness. “Come out into the light.” 

The girl seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then outstretched her leg into the light from the skylight. Gradually, the rest of the girl’s figure is revealed to him, and Rodney could have sworn his heart was beating faster than ever before. Not from the fear that had grown in him since he first found the castle. Not from the fear of his friend suffering in the cells. No, not from the terrors of having to give up his freedom for Cappy’s...but because of how gorgeous the strange girl looked. 

Auburn feathers covered her head, golden highlights at the ends, as the golden-orange wings shone underneath the light. Her sun-colored eyes, a hint of blue in the orbs, studied the young man’s face for any signs of fear or disgust at her body. A pearl-white shirt, comprise pants, and a belt-shawl concealed the rest of her figure, leaving her face--golden-red at the forehead and meeting at her ears--to reveal itself to Rodney. 

The blue-haired man couldn’t bring himself to turn away from her until Cappy grabbed his hand through the bars. 

“Rodney, no! I won’t let you do this!” She pleaded with him. 

Rodney glanced back at her and gave her an encouraging smile before facing the girl again. “You have my word,” he finally stated with bravery. 

The woman nodded. “Then so be it...”

At her call, two metal knight suits walked up the steps, their spears in hand and ready for action if necessary. Rodney didn’t want to believe it, but he understood that he would be locked up. Wonderbot whimpered, hiding further underneath his cloak.

When the girl turned back to face him, he was surprised to notice her stern stare soften a bit. 

“I’ll..give you time to say goodbye,” she told him before turning to one of the knight suits and nodded her head. 

At her silent command, one of the knight suits approached the cell door and opened it, stepping back in time for Cappy to rush out and tackle Rodney in a tight hug. He hugged her back in response. 

Cappy pulled away and nearly hit him in the back of the head. “What are you thinking, you damn idiot?” She nearly yelled at him, a few tears threatening to leave her green eyes. “You could’ve taken that chance!” 

“I didn’t want to leave you in there,” Rodney replied, smiling a bit. “You’re my friend. Us against the world until the very end, right?” 

Cappy couldn’t help but chuckle. “Yeah...until the very end…” 

“I’ll be okay, I promise.” He went to wipe a streaming tear from her cheek in reassurance. 

“I’ll come back for you...I swear to God…” Cappy was able to spare one last look at Rodney before the other knight suit gently took hold of her shoulder and began leading her away from him. The first suit then shoved Rodney in the cell where his friend was once held and slammed the cell door shut. 

The second knight suit dragged Cappy outside towards the palanquin. “No! Please, I beg of you! Spare my friend! Please!” 

“I’m terribly sorry, ma’am, but he’s no longer your concern,” the knight suit apologized to her and gently shoved her in the palanquin. “Take her back to the village,” they ordered to the vehicle before taking a few steps back. 

The palanquin rose from the ground, the ivy vines breaking off, and walked off through the gates. 

“Let me out! Let me out! Let me out, please! Please!” Cappy pleaded, but the palanquin continued to wander off. 

Rodney watched through the cell window solemnly, though the relief of his friend gaining back her freedom overtook him. Wonderbot squeaked sadly as it hovered next to him, watching the palanquin scamper away with Cappy. 

“I’m sorry, Cappy...” Rodney softly said, unable to hold back the salty tears. 

*****

The Princess made her way through the hallways shortly after Cappy left by force towards the dungeons, but she wasn’t expecting to see a familiar face waiting for her. 

“Your Highness?” 

The Princess nearly jumped from the voice but relaxed slightly when she saw who called her. A young man, a year over her age, has wavy, sandy hair, forest green eyes, and freckles across his cheeks. He has bear ears and claws, dressed in a matching green vest, white shirt, and pants shredded under his knees. 

“Oh, Cody! Don’t do that to me, please,” the Princess sighed, her hand over her chest. “What is it that you want to tell me?” 

“I couldn’t help but state this,” Cody began respectfully. “Since the boy is going to be staying with us for some time, perhaps you could provide him a more comfortable room…” 

A one-sided glare from the Princess as she departed to the dungeons forced Cody to stop speaking. 

“Then again, maybe not…” Cody stated once she was out of earshot. 

However, she was considering it on the way to collect Rodney. She didn’t know why she easily accepted the offer that Rodney had given her. Maybe he’s the one to break the spell her damn aunt placed on her and everyone else in the castle. She didn’t want to get her hopes up, but she has to be sure…

****

Rodney didn’t know how long he had been sitting in the prison cell, his arms around his legs and his head buried in his arms. Maybe long enough for his limbs to ache from the frigid cold. Wonderbot laid next to him, still heartbroken for its friend. The cell door opened, and Wonderbot was quick enough to hide back underneath his cloak. 

When Rodney glanced up, he was astonished to see the Princess standing there with a candlestick in hand. Her expression, unlike from the first second he fully saw her, was now soft, remorseful even. 

“I’m, uh…” she began before sighing. “I’ll show you to your room…” 

“My room?” Rodney was perplexed. “But I thought…” 

“Would you rather stay in the tower?” The Princess asked him, raising a stern eyebrow. 

“No.” 

“Then follow me.” 

The walk from the dungeons to the supposed room was anything but peaceful. Wonderbot, despite remaining hidden underneath Rodney’s cloak, couldn’t bring itself to look away from the menacing looks of the gargoyles on the wall. It squeaked terrified quietly and hid further underneath the cloak. Rodney gave it a reassuring grin through his devastated expression before he glanced back at the ground. 

He didn’t bother to notice the Princess sparing a look back at him, her eyes softening to see a tear streaming down his cheek. 

She sighed, struggling to find words to say to him. “I, uh...hope you like it here…” 

There was no response from him, but something inside her encouraged her to continue. “The castle is your home now, so you can go anywhere you’d like, except the West Wing,” she instructed him. 

“What’s in the West Wing?” Rodney inquired.

“It’s forbidden,” the Princess firmly snapped, stopping at one point to say it to him. She internally scolded herself for replying like that as she continued to lead him towards the room. 

They soon approached a lovely decorated door, which the Princess opened for Rodney to pass through. The room was a lot bigger than the one he used to have. A large bed, surrounded by a violet-colored room, stood beside the window leading to a balcony. 

“Now, if there’s anything you need, my servants will attend to you,” she told him as he entered. “And…” she cleared her throat before she continued. “And you will join me for dinner. That’s not a request.” She firmly stated before she closed the door. 

Rodney understood a second later what had happened, but was too late to stop the door from slamming shut. His fists connected with the wood, prompting Wonderbot out of its hiding place. 

“Damn it!” He slammed his fist against the door before he slid down against it. Tears soon spilled from his baby blue eyes. 

Wonderbot tried to comfort its friend by leaning up next to him, but it wasn’t enough to soothe the pain away. 

They’re both trapped here now, and they’re going to have to get used to it...


	7. At The Tavern

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Again, this is the mixture of the song 'Gaston' from the live remake and original film. 
> 
> Enjoy!

The snow flew heavily across the air, leaving the remaining villagers outside to walk for home before they dare meet the eyes of Death itself. Some of the residents had sought shelter in the tavern for a few drinks and some chatter with their buddies before they plan on departing for home later on. However, one of them was not in the brightest mood at the moment, even after the day passed.

“Who does he think he is? That boy has tangled with the wrong man! No one says no to Ratchet!” Ratchet ranted, sitting in front of the fireplace.

Zach came up next to him cheerfully carrying a couple of glasses of beer for him and Ratchet. “Damn right!”

“Dismissed. Rejected. Publicly humiliated!” Ratchet grabbed the two glasses from Zach. “It’s more than I can bear!” He threw the glasses into the fireplace, which the flames reacted to by burning brighter and bigger for a moment.

“Uh, more beer?” Zach asked.

“What for? Nothing helps. I’m disgraced,” Ratchet complained as he turned his chair in another direction away from Zach.

“Who, you? Never,” Zach went to confront him, only for him to turn away again, now facing the people in the tavern. “Ratchet, you’ve got to pull yourself together.”

“Gosh, it disturbs me to see you, Ratchet. Looking so down in the dumps,” Zach began singing and pushed the corner of Ratchet’s lips to form into a smile. Ratchet punched him in response, sending him flying into one of the tables.

“Every guy here'd love to be you, Ratchet, even when taking your lumps,” Zach went on as the men cheered and raised their glasses. Ratchet turned his chair back towards the fireplace, still discontent from Rodney’s rejection.

“There's no man in town as admired as you. You're everyone's favorite guy,” Zach squished Ratchet’s face a bit before moving to the other side. “Everyone's awed and inspired by you…” He turned the chair back around towards the bar and people in the tavern, just as the three brides stepped in. “...and it's not very hard to see why!”

As Zach moved away, the three girls leaned in on each side next to Ratchet and sighed romantically.

“No one's slick as Ratchet. No one's quick as Ratchet!” Zach snuck up behind someone and took his belt as the patrons laughed. “No one's neck's as incredibly thick as Ratchet, for there's no man in town half as manly!” Zach wrapped the belt around Ratchet’s neck and tightened it a bit before the silver-haired man broke it with ease.

“Perfect, a pure paragon,” the three brides added.

“You can ask any Tom, Dick, or Stanley,” Zach piped in as he gestured to the three men. “And they'll tell you whose team they prefer to be on!”

“Who plays darts like Ratchet? Who breaks hearts like Ratchet? Who's much more than the sum of his parts like Ratchet?” Percival McCleach, Lotor, and Myles Standish joined in, raising their glasses.

“As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating,” Ratchet nodded and flexed his muscles.

“My, what a guy, that Ratchet!” The patrons in the tavern cheered and slammed their glasses against each other. “Give five hurrahs. Give hip-hips.”

“Ratchet is the best, and the rest is all drips,” Zach stated and accidentally splashed his beer over Ratchet’s face. When he glared down at him, Zach chuckled nervously, hiding his now empty glass behind him.

“No one fights like Ratchet..” Ratchet instantly punched Zach in the face, knocking him down before he began fighting with the other men. “Douses lights like Ratchet.”

“In a wrestling match, nobody bites like Ratchet!” Chester V added.

“When I hunt, I sneak up with my quiver,” Ratchet then pretended to hunt, while Zach acted as if he was being hunted around the table. “And beasts of the field say a prayer.”

Ratchet stepped up on the table, and Zach glided across the table under him. “First, I carefully aim for the liver,” he picked up his shotgun and aimed it at Zach, who yelped. “Then I shoot from behind!”

“Is that fair?” Zach asked uncomfortably.

“I don't care.” Ratchet shot up into the roof, startling the patrons. Some bits of the roof fell on the ground.

“No one hits like Ratchet. Matches wits like Ratchet,” Lord Piggot-Dunceby, Lotor, and Jafar joined in.

“In a spitting match, nobody spits like Ratchet,” Zach added as he readied a pit and stepped back a bit.

“I'm especially good at expectorating,” Ratchet sang before he spat up into the air. His spit sailed across the air and landed in the pot with perfect ease.

“Ten points for Ratchet!” The patrons cheered and clapped.

“When I was a lad, I ate four dozen eggs, ev'ry morning to help me get large,” Ratchet lifted one of the brides, who giggled flirtingly.

“And now that I'm grown, I eat five dozen eggs,” Ratchet then lifted Zach in the air with his other arm as the crowd cheered wildly. “So I'm roughly the size of a barge!”

“Who has brains like Ratchet? Entertains like Ratchet?” Zach and the patrons sang together as Ratchet stood on the table.

“Who can make up these endless refrains like Ratchet?” Ratchet sang and gestured to the antlers on the walls. “I use antlers in all of my decorating!”

“Say it again! Who's a man among men? Who's a super success? Don't you know? Can't you guess? Ask his fans and his five hangers-on. There's just one guy in town who's got all of it down…RATCHET!” The patrons slammed their glasses next to one another and cheered wildly as Ratchet returned to his chair near the fireplace.

“Help! Someone help me!” Cappy barged in through the door, her face evident with worry.

“Cappy?” One of the patrons gasped. The rest, including Ratchet, glanced up surprised at her sudden entrance.

“Please! Please, I need help! She’s got him! She’s got him locked up in her dungeons!” Cappy hastily rushed around and approached the patrons for help.

“Who?”

“Rodney! We’ve got to save him! We don’t have enough time!”

“Whoa, slow down, Cappy. Who’s got Rodney locked up in the dungeons?” Ratchet asked her.

“A Phoenix! A living, breathing Phoenix!” Cappy exclaimed.

It was quiet for only a second before the patrons laughed, as if they weren’t believing her story. Their laughter rang across the tavern, some of them slamming their fists on the tables, others holding onto their sides and leaning against their buddies for support.

“Was it a big Phoenix?” Standish used his cape to make himself bigger.

“Huge!” Cappy answered.

“With long, strong wings?” Chester V asked her mockingly.

“Very long!”

“And soft, yet terrifying feathers?” Thrax added, smirking mischievously.

“Yes! Yes! Will you help me, please?” Cappy begged to Ratchet.

“Alright, alright. We’ll help you…” Ratchet answered.

Cappy’s smile of relief soon fell when the men at the tavern grabbed and shoved her outside before slamming the door laughing.

“That crazy, young woman! She and that Copperbottom boy are always good for a laugh!” McCleach chuckled as he walked with his pals back to their table.

At that statement, Ratchet pondered about something. Rodney had always been so fond of Cappy since he first came down to the village. “Crazy, young Cappy, hmm?”

“Zach, I’m afraid I’ve been thinking…” Ratchet began as he spoke to Zach.

“A dangerous pastime?” Zach asked.

“I know,” Ratchet nodded. “But that headstrong, tough beauty is Rodney’s friend, and their sanity’s only so-so. Now the wheels in my head had been turning since I looked at that pretty, sweet woman. See, I promised myself I’d be married to Rodney, and right now, I’m evolving a plan!”

He then grabbed Zach by the front of his shirt, pulling him forward, and whispered something into his ear. “If I…”

“Yeah?”

“Then I…”

The other patrons leaned in to hear his plan.

“No, would he?” Zach started, a smile forming.

“Guess!” Ratchet smirked.

“Now I get it!” Zach beamed widely.

“Let’s go!” Ratchet and Zach both yelled in unison.

“No one plots like Ratchet, make cheap shots like Ratchet…” they both sang as they danced across the tavern.

“Plans to persecute harmless crackpots like Ratchet!” Zach sang.

“So his marriage we soon’ll be celebrating! My, what a guy! Ratchet!” The whole tavern joined in. 

Outside, Cappy miserably walked back home, holding her cloak close to her keep the cold from affecting her further. “Will no one help me?” She pleaded, tears threatening to leave her eyes.

The wind blowing hard in the air only answered her back. Cappy sighed dejected and fought back against the harsh winds to head back home. She has to save Rodney. She’s got to.


	8. The Castle Staff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/n: Happy New Year! Let's hope 2021 is kinder than the last year...

Rodney sat on the window balcony, staring out through the glass. Wonderbot rested next to him, closed up. His discontent eyes stared out into the calm evening, despite some snow falling from the night sky.

His mind wandered off to the hills, where his mother used to take him when he was younger, when she was still alive. She was beautiful, full of life, even. He remembered how her red hair flowed behind from the wind breezing through, how the lakes shone under the sun, and how green the hills were as they passed through.

Rodney sighed, blinking back tears.

At that moment, a little girl, the same one that Cappy had met, snuck up next to Rodney. Pushing back a few strands of her blonde hair, she giggled quietly and quickly took Wonderbot, still asleep and unaware of what was going on.

Rodney heard something shuffle on his side and noticed in time to find the younger child holding Wonderbot in her hands. “Hey! Hey…” he couldn’t help but chuckle as he tried to catch her. “I don’t have time to play, okay? Trying to figure out a plan…”

Rodney attempted to catch the girl again, but she avoided his attempt before fleeing through a secret door behind the curtains, her giggles echoing.

“Hey! You got my Wonderbot!” Rodney called and followed after her through the secret door. To his surprise, it adjusted to his height, so he didn’t have to crawl through it.

The girl laughed as she slipped through the end, still holding Wonderbot in her arms, and rushed to hide somewhere. Rodney’ stepped out and gasped amazed at the room he was standing in.

It was a bit bigger than the room he has as of now, but a table holding a toolbox, much like the ones he had at home, a stool, and a fireplace occupied the room.

The little girl’s laughter turned his attention back to her, and he found her hiding behind the bookshelf before she darted off to somewhere.

“Hey! Come back here!” Rodney started after her again. Wherever she’s taking him, it’s got to be somewhere good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crank, an orange robot with wheels, looked inside a can before he groaned and tossed it aside. “What’s the use? There’s nothing left…”

It was getting worse for them as robots. As the days until the curse would soon be unbreakable passed, it was getting harder to find parts that still work in the castle.

“Hey, Deisel. I found you a voice box,” Lugnut, a bigger green bot, held up a voice box from the bins.

A dark blue bot, who happened to be Deisel, clapped his hands excitedly and took the voice box and inserted it through his mouth. A crowd cheering was soon followed by an announcer speaking excitedly in Spanish, and Deisel started running around until Lugnut caught him resulting in the voice box falling out of his mouth.

“Uh, here’s another one,” Lugnut handed Deisel another voice box. He inserted it in and began acting like a dog.

“That’s no good. Gimme that!” Crank tried taking it from Diesel, but the latter snarled at him, making him back away.

Lugnut lifted some parts and groaned when he found one smaller than him. “I can never find parts of my size.”

At that moment, a head fell into a wheelbarrow holding parts, his scream cut short at the landing. Diesel barked happily, which caught Lugnut’s attention. “What is it, boy?” He playfully asked him.

He chuckled and picked up an unamused red robot’s head. “Hey, Fender. Have you lost weight?”

“Lost weight?!” Crank laughed in disbelief. “Will you--will you look at him?! He’s a head, in a basket! We’re doomed, I knew it! We’re doomed!”

“Oh, will you shut up, you neurotic nut?! Why, I’d-I’d smack you if I had a hand!” Fender threatened.

Loud thudding from above caught their attention, and they glanced up to find the red robot’s body falling and hitting every place.

“Oh, speak of the devil, here I come,” Fender said. His body landed on the ground hard. “OWWW! Daddy!”

Child-like laughter turned their attention towards where it’s coming from. Lily rushed out through the bushes with an object in her hands and hid behind Lugnut’’s legs while stifling her giggles.

At that moment, the yellow robot from before pushed open the bin she was in and saw the object in Lily’s hands. “Whoa, check this out! Who made such a cute, lil’ do-dad?”

Wonderbot soon woke up and hid underneath its top when it saw Lily. The younger child whimpered as if apologizing to it.

“Hey, that’s mine!” Rodney’s voice caught their attention, too. Lily hid further behind Lugnut’s legs.

“That’s him! That’s the guy!” Fender exclaimed as his body pointed at the wrong way, with Rodney approaching the others. “I would know that face! I know that face! And I know those boots!”

Fender noticed his body pointing the other way. “Psst, he’s over there, moron,” he whispered. His body turned towards Rodney and pointed at him. “That’s the man here! He’s here to break the spell! He’s here to save us all!”

Diesel studied the blue-haired man before grabbing his hand and shaking it wildly.

“See? We told you. Didn’t we, Lil?” the yellow robot smiled at Lily, who nodded proudly.

“Piper, Lily, would you behave yourselves? Now, c’mon. Let’s find parts to get Fender fixed...again,” Crank said unamused. Lugnut tried putting Fender’s head back in his body, but it didn’t seem to work. Lily held back her laughter at that by covering her mouth.

“Ahem.” Rodney cleared his throat, catching Lily’s attention. “I believe that’s my Wonderbot you have in your hands.”

Lily looked at him, then at Wonderbot, before shyly giving it back to him. She then instantly hid behind Piper’s legs while staring down at the ground.

“Sorry about Lily. She’s a real, sweet kid,” Piper told Rodney. “By the way, the name’s Piper. Rhymes with ‘viper’.” She hissed like a snake before smiling.

Rodney didn’t hesitate to look at Fender, who is having a hard time trying to get his head back on. The kid must have brought him down here for help, he understood.

He sighed after a moment of thought. “Ah, here. Well, let me help with that.”

“How? I mean, there isn’t not much left here,” Crank added. The Rusties couldn’t help but feel that he is right. They are running out of parts of the castle.

“Well, do you guys have two washers, an S-spring, and some fast weld? I can fix you easy,” Rodney beamed.

Lily lit up, happy that her plan to lead Rodney to the others worked well.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t long until Rodney and the Rusties, as well as Lily, found themselves back in his room. Rodney started working on fixing Fender’s neck after finding the parts needed for the job.

“When was the last time you got oiled?” He asked.

“I really can’t answer that with my kid sister and Liliane here,” Fender mumbled, using his hand to block Piper.

“Can it, Fender!” Piper pushed it away from her face. Lily giggled, covering her mouth.

Rodney couldn’t help but smile lightly at her shy, yet sweet nature before he returned to Fender’s neck. “Hold still, th-this might tickle,” he turned Fender’s head right-side-up and was handed back the wrench.

“We haven't been properly introduced. I’m Fender. Used to be ‘Bumper’, but had to change it when we came into the country,” Fender said.

“Copperbottom. Rodney Copperbottom,” Rodney answered back.

“Riddle me this. Why did I meet you among the castle walls?” Fender asked him in a different accent.

A few knocks on the door prompted him and the others to turn towards the door. “It’s Samantha,” a soft feminine voice called from the other side.

Lily rushed towards the door and opened it to let in Samantha, who rolled in a decanter. “I thought that you might like some tea here,” the blonde-haired woman said, her wings trailing behind her.

Rodney was too astonished to answer her. His mouth hung open, his eyes wide with wonder. “You..but you’re…” he started.

“You do know it’s rude to stare like that,” a new voice said from the other side. Rodney quickly spun around and saw another girl with short, red hair, jade green eyes, and chestnut-brown skin, who leaned against the bedpost with her arms folded across her chest and a smirk on her face. She is dressed in an off-shoulder dark brown dress with puffy sleeves and a brown corset vest. Her cat ears and tail were in sight for him to see.

“Th-this is impossible…” Rodney gasped, the shock and amazement almost taking over him.

“Yeah, I know it is, but here we are,” the woman shrugged. “Name’s Ginger, by the way.”

“We heard about what happened back there,” Sam said as she poured some tea for Rodney. “It was very brave of you to do that.”

“How did you know?” Rodney asked her, tilting his head.

“Rumor spreads fast around the castle,” Ginger replied. “And...we all seem to think so.”

“Yeah, but I lost my friend, my projects…” Rodney started, his face crestfallen.

“Well, on the bright side, everything will turn out okay in the end,” Piper added. “As long as we got each other.”

“Well, what I’ve heard is that the petals are falling fast and that we’re almost running out of time here,” Crank said, only to be lightly slapped in the back of the head by Sam.

Rodney soon finished fixing Fender’s neck and stepped back. “Well, that oughta do it.”

Fender gasped with delight and stood up from the chair. “Look at that. He fixed my ne-e-e-e-e-e-e-eck!” He spun his head around for what seemed like a minute before he stopped.

“Oh! I remember! There’s dinner ready to be set on the table!” Sam quickly placed the tea on the bedside table before turning to leave. “Lily!” She called to the young child.

Lily swiftly followed behind Sam. “Bye!” She called before she, along with Sam and the Rusties, exited the room, leaving Rodney and Ginger in the area.

“Okay, if Brittany were here now, she’d help me pick out the outfit for dinner tonight, but she ain’t, so…” Ginger started as she made her way towards the wardrobe. “Alright, let’s just give it a shot.” She mumbled as she searched for something until her hands found an outfit for Rodney. “Ah! Here we go! I swear to God, you’d look great in this…”

“That’s very kind of you, but, uh, I’m not going to dinner,” Rodney kindly smiled.

“But you must!” Ginger pleaded.

At that moment, Matt nearly fell over after stopping and fixed his hair as he cleared his throat. “Dinner is served…” he beamed nervously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Princess paced back and forth in front of the fireplace, clearly more nervous rather than impatient. Her wing tail flowed behind her, easily moving from one side to another as she paced. There’s a reason that she easily gave in to Rodney’s offer to take Cappy’s place. She didn’t know why, but there’s something inside telling her that he might be the one to break the curse and save her and the people in the castle in the process. She didn’t want to get her hopes up…

“Okay, okay. No need to panic. I told him to come down,” she mumbled to herself. “Maybe he’s trying to find something suitable to wear, or he still needs time to think about it. But...why isn’t he here yet?”

“Oh, try to be patient, sister. The poor boy has lost his friend and freedom all in one day,” Nabel reasoned with her.

“Your Highness, have you thought that perhaps that the boy would be the one to break the spell?” Cody chimed in hopefully.

The Princess ceased her pacing to look at him. She scoffed lightly at his question, a small smile, nervous and incredulous, growing. “Cody, does it look like I don’t know that? I mean, I’m not an idiot,” she stated and continued to pace.

“Good. You fall in love with him, he falls in love with you, and BOOM!” Cody slapped his hands together in the end. “The spell is broken! We’ll be fully human again by midnight!”

“Oh, it’s not going to be that easy, Cody. These things take time,” Nabel stated.

“Yes, but the rose is already starting to wilt.”

The Princess sighed, having stopped pacing again, and glanced down at her hands. “Oh, it’s no use. I mean, he’s so handsome, and I’m...well, look at me!” She gestured to herself as she looked at Nabel and Cody.

The two turned to look at each other, with Cody shrugging. “Well, you must help him see past all that,” Nabel said.

“Yeah, but there’s one problem...I just don’t know how,” the Princess replied, a bit devastated.

Nabel stood with determination. “Well, you can start by making yourself more presentable,” she said as she walked over to her. “Straighten up. Try to act like a lady.”

The Princess did so, her back straight and her face sophisticated.

“Exactly! And when he comes in, give him a dashing, debonair smile!” Cody piped in. “Come on, show me the smile.”

The Princess did, though it was the best she could do.

“But don’t frighten the poor boy,” Nabel instructed.

“Impress him with your rapier wit,” Cody added.

“But be gentle.”

“Shower him with compliments.”

“But be sincere.”

By then, the Princess couldn’t keep up with the various bits of advice and covered her ears in irritation. “And above all…”

“You must control your temper!” Nabel and Cody finished in unison.

The door opening caught their attention. “There he is!” Cody softly said.

The Princess stood straight, her dashing smile returning. This is it. She’s got to do it…

“Uh, good evening,” Matt nervously greeted.

The Princess’s smile fell for a second. “Uh…” she laughed a bit, her smile, yet still unsettling, appearing again. “Matt, where is he?”

“Who? Oh, ah, the boy!” Matt laugher anxiously. “Yes, the...ah...boy...Well, actually, he’s in the process of...ah, um...Circumstances being what they are...ah…” he couldn’t find a different answer and gave up. “He’s not coming.”

A few seconds of silence lingered in the air.

“WHAT???!!!!” The Princess’s loud shriek shook the entire room. She slammed open the door and flew up swiftly towards Rodney’s room, with Nabel, Matt, and Cody running after her and trying to calm her down.

“Wait! Your grace! Your eminence!” Nabel called after her sister, who was too busy flying to Rodney’s room.

“Let’s not be hasty!” Matt shouted as he, Nabel, and Cody ran up the stairs.

The Princess arrived at the door and slammed her fist on it. “I thought I told you to come down to dinner!” She angrily yelled.

Nabel, Matt, and Cody, who had caught up with her, shook their heads with worry.

“I’m not hungry!” Rodney replied.

“You’ll come out, or I’ll...I’ll break down the door!” The Princess yelled enraged.

“Um, your Highness, I could be wrong, but I don’t think that’s the way to win the boy’s affections,” Cody began.

“Please, attempt to be a lady,” Matt told her.

“But he is being so difficult!” The Princess growled under her breath.

“Gently, gently,” Nabel calmly told her.

The Princess sighed. “Will you come down to dinner?” She asked dejectedly.

“No!” Rodney replied sternly. The Princess grunted, pointing at the door.

“Uh, uh, uh. Suave. Genteel,” Matt softly added.

“It would give me great pleasure if you would join me for dinner…” the Princess growled under her breath.

“Ahem, we always say ‘please’,” Matt faked coughed.

“Please?”

“No, thank you!” Rodney yelled. Nabel, Cody, and Matt both watched on wide-eyed.

“You can’t stay in there forever!” The Princess yelled.

“Yes, I can!” Rodney spat back.

The Princess growled, her fists ready to break down the door, before she cried with frustration and stormed away in a flash. She slammed the door, which caused a piece of the ceiling to fall on Cody.

“Well, that didn’t go very well the way we expected,” Nabel commented.

“Cody, stay guard at the door and let me know at once if there is the slightest change,” Matt ordered Cody.

“You can count on me, captain,” the sandy-blonde saluted as he stood near the door.

“Well, we might as well go ahead and start cleaning up,” Matt sighed dejected and headed back to the kitchen with Nabel beside him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Princess stormed into her quarters and made sure to not knock any of her belongings over in the process. The unfinished paintings remained standing tall on the easels, some of them hidden under the covers.

“I don’t get it! I asked nicely, but he just refused!” She ranted as stomped over to the table holding the rose and mirror. “I mean, what does he want me to do?! Beg?!”

She quickly grabbed the mirror from the table. “Show me the boy!”

The Mirror glowed green and revealed an image of Rodney sitting on the bed with his arms folded.

“Hey, you know, the Princess ain’t that bad once you get to know her,” Ginger reasoned with him. “Why not give her a chance?”

Rodney scoffed at that thought. “Know her? You kidding me? I don’t want to have anything to do with her.”

The Princess didn’t know how to react to those words. She sighed, setting the mirror down. “Who am I kidding? The Enchantress was wrong. He won’t see as anything, let alone a human.”

One of the petals fell from the rose behind the glass covering it.

“It’s hopeless.” She covered her face with her hands devastated.

Hope is withering away. She won’t be able to learn to love...


	9. Be Our Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I've been busy with college stuff, but I'll post more soon
> 
> Plus, I've been laughing while I was writing this down 'cause I've been imagining this scene in my head

It was late in the evening by the time everyone in the castle was beginning to retire for the night. However, only one, the young man with the blue hair, was wide awake and had other plans. 

Rodney opened the door halfway to find the hallway empty and no one else, apart from a sleeping Cody, who was resting against the wall, was in sight at the moment. With Wonderbot flying next to him, Rodney carefully closed the door behind him and stepped out quietly through the hallways. 

Cody snored, his arms crossed across his chest, but his head gradually leaned to the side until it hit the floor with a hard thud. “Ow!” He grunted in pain and soothed his head before he noticed Rodney heading towards the stairs. 

“Oh, blimey! He’s emerged!” He exclaimed to himself. 

As Rodney passed the hallways to the stairs, his eyes noticed a few paintings hanging on the walls. They revealed themselves from the outside light as the views of the world, as well as the village. He hummed amazed as Wonderbot whistled quietly impressed. 

“Hello!” 

Rodney nearly yelped and spun around, only to relax when he noticed Fender standing behind him with a wide grin. 

“About time you got out of there,” Fender continued. “We were getting worried that you wouldn’t come down any time soon.” 

“Well, uh, I was just gonna get something from the kitchen, and I’ll--” Rodney began but got cut off. 

“Funny you should say that. Let’s go!” Fender quickly took the blue-haired lad by the arm and pulled him along with him. Wonderbot quickly followed behind his friend. 

“Alright, Caleb, get going. To bed with you now,” Brittany gently tucked Caleb, a young boy with brown hair, dark chocolate eyes, a pair of cheetah feet, and tail, with spots on his arms and legs. 

Caleb yawned, rubbing his eyes. “But I’m not sleepy,” he whined tiredly. 

“Yes, you are,” Brittany smiled in a sing-song tone. 

“No, I’m not…” Caleb soon drifted off to slumber as Brittany closed the door. 

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Fender and Rodney heading towards the kitchen and tilted her head confused. With questions about the blue-haired man’s sudden emergence burning on her mind, she quietly followed behind them. 

“I work and slave all day making this stuff, and for what?! A culinary masterpiece gone to waste!” Josh wailed dramatically as he turned down the oven. He has messy honey brown hair, light brown eyes, and fins on his hands and feet. Though he isn’t wearing a shirt, he is dressed in an open vest and comprise pants while still in the water on the ground. 

“Oh, will you stop your grousing? It’s been a long night for all of us,” Nabel gently ordered.

“Well, if you ask me, he was just being stubborn!” Matt threw a towel in the cabinet and closed the door. “After all, she did learn to say ‘please’.” 

“But if she doesn’t learn to control that anger of hers, the spell won’t be broken…” 

As the others argued, Rodney and Fender stepped in through the hallway leading to the kitchen. 

“Let me just let them know you’re here,” Fender told Rodney. “Aunt FANNY!” He shouted at the top of his lungs, making Rodney jump slightly. “I brought someone!” 

“I’m in the kitchen,” a woman called from behind the archway.

“Are you sure your aunt won’t mind?” Rodney softly asked. 

“Relax, she’s not my aunt. She just takes in people who are, um...lost,’ Fender chuckled in the end. “Bless her little heart.”

“Well, why is she called Aunt Fanny?” 

“We couldn’t call her Aunt Booty,” Fender replied, just as Aunt Fanny turned around to face Rodney with a dish in her hands. 

“Whoa!” Rodney gasped, understanding what Fender had meant. 

As Aunt Fanny began heading towards the fridge, her rear end accidentally hit the counters. “Oops! Oh! Aw, scrap!” 

“She’s a little artsy-fartsy,” Brittany, who had now caught up with Rodney and Fender, with Cody beside her, explained quietly. “The artsy’s fine, but once she gets fartsy…” 

“Oh, right on my shoes! I’m so clumsy. I…” She fixed the headset on her head and turned her gaze back to Rodney. “Well, hello there. What’s your name?” 

“I’m Rodney Bigbottom—No, I’m Rodney Copperbottom.” Rodney corrected his error, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. “Copperbottom...” 

“That’s a wonderful name,” Aunt Fanny set the dish down on the table and began backing away, unbeknownst towards Matt, who had noticed Rodney entering and was walking towards him. “Bigbottom...” 

“Splendid to see you out and about, monsieur! I am Matthew, head of the household…” Matt was unable to finish his sentence or to escape, for Aunt Fanny’s rear end trapped him against the wall. When she turned around, it dragged him along to the side. 

“Well, I…” Aunt Fanny stopped, noticing Matt not there anymore. “Whatever happened to Matt?” 

“He’s been rear-ended,” Fender joked as Rodney winced at the unfortunate occurrence. 

Matt was dragged to the other side of the wall by Aunt Fanny’s rear end and fell to the ground. “Oh! There you are!” The older woman giggled. 

Cody helped Matt off the ground as the brown-haired man breathed heavily, his hand over his chest. “And, uh...this is Annabelle...Queen of the castle…” he then gestured to Nabel. 

“Pleasure to meet you, Monsieur,” Nabel lightly bowed, lifting the sides of her skirts politely. 

“And, uh, if there’s anything...get off…” Matt gently pushed Cody off of him. “...we can do to make you more comfortable here, we’ll gladly do so.” He yelped when Cody playfully scratched his back, but not too hard. 

“Well, I am a little hungry,” Rodney admitted. 

At that, Nabel and the staff lit up. “You are? You hear that? He’s hungry!” She then turned to Josh and the kitchen staff. “Strike the fire, break out the silver, wake the china!” She ordered happily to them. Josh quickly turned on the stove again as the silverware instantly came to life from the cabinets. 

“Remember what the Princess said,” Matt mumbled to her. 

“Oh, pish posh. We’re not going to let the poor boy go hungry!” Nabel scoffed. 

“Oh, okay, fine. For the young man, maybe some bread and water, and then we’ll…” Matt began, but Josh interrupted him, clearly startled by his attitude. 

“Matt, I’m surprised. He’s not our prisoner, he’s our guest. We’ve got to make him feel welcome,” Josh stated. 

Sam and Brittany instantly took hold of Rodney and led him to the dining room. “Right this way, sir!” Sam said happily. 

“Okay, well, keep it down. If the Princess finds out about this, it’ll be our necks,” Matt stated worriedly as he followed them and Josh and Cody. 

“Yeah, yeah, sure. But...what’s dinner without a little...music?” Josh smirked and left the door to slam into Matt. 

“Music?!” He exclaimed, falling to the floor. 

At the dining room, Sam and Brittany stepped aside, letting Rodney go in the process, with wide grins. Josh and Cody stepped up on the table excitedly. 

“Ma chère Monsieur, it is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight.” Josh declared as Cody took a guitar from the coatrack. A spotlight shone on them from above. “And now we invite you to relax, let us pull up a chair as the dining room proudly presents: your dinner!” 

A chair automatically came up behind Rodney, who sat down with excitement growing. A few dishes rushed in on the table. 

“Be our guest! Be our guest! Put our service to the test,” Josh sang as Cody played his guitar. A few dishes danced in. 

“Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie, and we'll provide the rest.” The chair placed a napkin on Rodney’s lap as a bowl and cup hopped in and poured some soup in the bowl. 

“Soupe du jour, hot hors d'oeurve. Why, we only live to serve. Try the grey, it's delicious,” Josh held out a plate with some food and beamed widely. 

“Don't believe us? Ask the dishes,” Cody added, still strumming his guitar. The dishes danced around, forming a structure of the Eiffel Tower. “They can sing, they can dance. After all, Mister, this is France. And a dinner here is never second-best!” 

“Go on, unfold your menu. Take a glance and then you'll be our guest.” Josh handed Rodney a menu and continued. “Oui, our guest. Be our guest!”

In an instant, more dishes hopped in and started dancing on the table. 

“Beef ragout, cheese soufflée. Pie and pudding ‘en flambé’,” Josh sang as Matt was rushing in. Unfortunately, he barely got hit in the face with the fire aimed at the pudding. His face filled with soot, he fell backward. “We'll prepare and serve with flair. A culinary cabaret!”

“You're alone and you're scared. But the banquet's all prepared.” Cody joined in. 

“No one's gloomy or complaining while the flatware's entertaining,” Josh sang and juggled a few candlesticks. “We tell jokes! I do tricks with my fellow candlesticks!” 

“And it's all in perfect taste that you can bet!” Cody sang, strumming his guitar, joined in by a few more of the staff. 

“Come on and lift your glass,” Josh raised a glass full of beer in the air. The cups of beer began flipping in the air and landed on the spoons that the other is standing on, repeating the process for a moment. “You've won your own free pass to be our guest! If you're stressed, it's fine dining we suggest!” 

Matt cleaned his face with a towel before noticing the occurrence. He rushed in to stop the others from loudly singing. 

“Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest!” As the cups departed, Matt was only left standing on the table. He awkwardly grinned and tried to walk away. 

“Life is so unnerving for a servant who's not serving,” Josh stated as he and Cody stepped in, prevent Matt from leaving by wrapping their arms around. “He's not whole without a soul to wait upon.” 

“Get off!” Matt quietly ordered while trying to shove Josh and Cody off of him. 

“Ah, those good old days when we were useful. Eh, Matt?” Cody piped in, playing his guitar in a gloomy tune. “Suddenly, those good old days are gone.” 

Matt only groaned in annoyance as a reply. 

“Too long we've been rusting, needing so much more than dusting!” Josh dramatically clung onto Matt, who then proceeded to pry him off in an attempt. “Needing exercise, a chance to use our skills!” 

Matt successfully got Josh to let go of him, but that only resulted in him falling off the table and hitting the ground, his scream cut off at landing. Cody and Josh winced at that. 

“Most days we just lay around the castle,” Josh sang, with Matt groaning in pain from the hard landing. “Flabby, fat, and lazy. You walked in and oops-a-daisy!” He jumped off the table and quickly picked Matt up before standing back up on the table. 

“It's a guest! It's a guest! Sakes alive, well I'll be blessed!” Sam sang and danced along with the moving teacups. “Wine's been poured and thank the Lord I've had the napkins freshly pressed.” 

“With dessert, he'll want tea, and my dear, that's fine with me,” she then twirled around with the napkins, who followed her movements. “While the cups do their soft-shoeing, I'll be bubbling, I'll be brewing.” 

“I'll get warm, piping hot. Heaven's sakes! Is that a spot?” Sam piped in and noticed a dirty spot on her cheek. “Clean it up! We want the company impressed,” she sang and cleaned the spot right off with ease. 

“We've got a lot to do! Is it one lump or two? For you, our guest!” She strolled the canter in the dining room as the china poured the tea and placed some lumps in the cup. 

“He's our guest!”

“He's our guest!”

“He's our guest!”

Matt tried to stop the others, but he rushed off before they could even run him over. “Be our guest! Be our guest! Our command is your request. It's been years since we've had anybody here, and we're obsessed!” 

“With your meal, with your ease, yes, indeed, we aim to please!” 

“While the candlelight's still glowing, let us help you, we'll keep going!” As the candlesticks departed, Josh and Cody stood in the center, their backs barely touching one another. The blonde-wavy-haired man had his guitar leaning up in front of him like a cane. 

“Course by course, one by one, 'til you shout, ‘Enough! I'm done!’” They both sang, with Cody playing his guitar as the china, silverware, and napkins danced while the Rusties and others sang. 

Rodney gasped in amazement as the chandelier lowered over the table as the staff, silverware, and napkins vocalized. 

“Then we'll sing you off to sleep as you digest,” the staff all sang. “Tonight you'll prop your feet up, but for now, let's eat up!” 

Matt stared at the event behind him before slowly joining into the beat, a smile growing. 

“Be our guest! Be our guest! Be our guest! Please, be our guest!” 

Matt danced around happily before Josh and Cody slid in on each side of him, finishing the number magnificently. 

“Bravo! That was wonderful!” Rodney remarked as Wonderbot cheered. 

“Thank you. Thank you, Monsieur. Yes, good show, wasn’t it?” Matt chuckled. He then pretended to yawn tiredly. “Oh, man. Look at the time. I think it’s time to get to bed now…” 

“Oh, we couldn’t go now. This is our first time in an enchanted castle,” Rodney stated. Wonderbot nodded quickly in agreement. 

“Enchanted? Who said anything about the castle being enchanted?” Matt laughed nervously, just as Cody came up next to him. “That was you, wasn’t it?” He snarled under his breath, turning to Cody and Josh, and started fighting with them. 

“I...figured it out for myself,” Rodney smirked. 

The three looked at him and stopped fighting in the process. Matt fell backward, letting go of Josh and Cody. 

“I’d like to look around, if that’s all right.” 

“Oh! Would you like a tour?” Cody chimed in excitedly. 

“Wait a minute, wait a minute. I don’t know if this is a good idea. We can’t let him go wandering around in...certain places, if you know what I mean,” Matt whispered to Cody and Josh, who both understood. 

“Maybe you could take us. I’m sure you know everything there is to know about the castle,” Rodney still smirked, folding his arms. 

“Well, actually…” Matt chuckled sheepishly. “Ah, yes, I do…”


	10. The West Wing

Some time later, Matt and Cody, with Pallo, the leg-rest walking beside them and Josh swimming in the tunnels of water above them, led Rodney through the hallways where the knight armors stood. 

“As you can see, the pseudo facade was stripped away to reveal a minimalist rococo design. Note the unusual inverted vaulted ceilings,” Matt explained as the knight armors turned their heads at Rodney and Wonderbot. “This is yet another example of the new classic baroque period, and as I always say, if it’s not baroque, don’t fix it!” He laughed at his joke, wiping a tear from his eyes. “Now then, where was I?” 

Rodney lagged behind as he stared at the numerous paintings on the walls. Some were almost like the ones near his bedroom, others showed a few people, one of them almost looking identical to the Princess. 

“Did she make all of these?” Rodney asked Cody. 

“She spent her whole life painting the outside world,” Cody told him, nodding. “Her mother taught her at a young age. Ever since the curse happened, she wanted nothing more than to see the world again. But with her whole appearance...it was only a glance away from the mirror.” 

“Oh…” Rodney understood. “And...uh, I noticed that Nabel is the Queen of the castle. She’s her...mother or something?” 

“Nonsense! They’re sisters,” Josh added. “And believe me when I say, the Princess may be royalty, but she knows how to be a goddamn good warrior.” 

“Oh, thank god!” Rodney sighed with relief before clearing his throat. “Uh, sorry. I just...I didn’t know that…” 

“All good, man. No worries,” Josh beamed. 

Rodney smiled back before his eyes landed on the West side of the hallway. With a shrug from Wonderbot, he headed towards the stairs. 

“Now, if I may draw your attention to the flying buttresses above the….uh, Monsieur?” Matt stopped and spotted Rodney and Wonderbot walking towards the West Wing. 

He, Cody, and Josh glanced at one another shocked before they rushed to him, Pallo barking and running alongside them. 

Just before Rodney could even step up on the stairs completely, the three stepped in front of them, nervous smiles on their faces and their arms extended to further the prevention. 

“What’s up there?” Rodney tilted his head. 

“Where Up there?” Matt anxiously laughed. “Oh, nothing. Absolutely nothing of interest at all in the West Wing. Just dusty, dull,” he continued to beam with nervousness as Cody and Josh nodded in agreement. 

“Oh, so that’s the West Wing,” Rodney smirked, tapping his chin. 

Matt gulped nervously as Josh and Cody glared at him. “Nice work, pal.” Josh folded his arms.

“Wonder what she’s hiding up there,” Rodney tried to get a closer glimpse at the West Wing. 

“What? Hiding? The Princess isn’t hiding anything,” Josh denied.

“Then it wouldn’t be forbidden,” Rodney stated as he went up the stairs, but the three stepped in front of him again. 

“Uh, perhaps monsieur would like to see something else,” Josh quickly added. “We have exquisite tapestries dating all the way back to…” 

“Maybe later,” Rodney made another step up the stairs, but the three stopped him in his tracks as before. 

“The gardens perhaps, or the, uh, the library?” Cody chimed in. 

“You have a library?” Rodney lit up. 

“Oh, yes! Indeed!” Matt nodded. 

“With books!” 

“Gads of books!” 

“Mountains of books!” 

“Forests of books!” 

“Cascades of books!” 

“Swamps of books!” 

Rodney went to follow the three but stopped and turned back to the West Wing. Smirking at Wonderbot, who smiled back, the two made their way towards the stairs, leaving the guys to wander off to the library without noticing him leaving. 

“More books than you will ever be able to read in a lifetime! Books on every subject ever studied by every author who ever set pen to paper…” Cody, Josh, and Matt, their arms wrapped over each other’s shoulder, rambled on as Pallo barked and followed behind them. 

At the top of the stairs, Rodney and Wonderbot quietly made their way down a long, dark hallway, apart from a few gargoyle statues. Rodney stopped, turning to a shattered mirror, before he continued his way towards the doors. 

He reached for the gargoyle knobs but stopped and hesitated for a moment. Wonderbot only shrugged in reply, squeaking with uncertainty. Sighing, Rodney grabbed the knobs and pulled open the doors. 

The room belonging to the Princess was more than he expected. Apart from a few shredded curtains hanging from the walls and ceiling and some items on the floor broken, everything else was left intact. Rodney and Wonderbot wandered around the room, shocked at what they were looking at. The blue-haired man almost knocked over a table, but the little robot caught it in time and set back up, sighing with relief. 

It noticed something else and squeaked quietly, catching Rodney’s attention. A picture, the frame shredded in the middle, was tilted on the side as it hung from the wall. Rodney stepped forward and tilted his head lightly. When he lifted the shreds, the frame was revealed to be a devastatingly beautiful girl with auburn curls and sky-blue eyes staring back at him. She almost had the striking resemblance of the older woman in the other painting, though her face was a bit more chubby. 

Rodney squinted his eyes at her appearance. Those orbs...they almost seemed familiar…

A soft, pink glow from the side turned Rodney from the painting to the source near the open balcony. A rose hovered over the table, a glass case concealing it from the air. 

Rodney, who gasped in amazement, walked over to the table, Wonderbot flying around it and studying the rose with wonder. The young lad lifted the jar and set it down before he reached out to touch the rose. 

However, he didn’t notice a shadow looming over him until Wonderbot squeaked terrified and hid behind him. Rodney gasped, his attention no longer on the rose. 

The Princess glared at him from the rail on the balcony. It was a look he couldn’t see well, but he guessed that it must be protectiveness, extreme sensitiveness…

The auburn-feathered female leaped from the rail and easily landed near the table before hastily placing the jar back on the rose. Once she knew that it’s safe, she slowly turned to Rodney, her glaring eyes piercing straight through his heart. This is the very first time he saw her as angry as this, and it’s scaring him…

“What were you thinking?” The Princess asked him, a growl hidden under her tone. 

“I-I’m sorry,” Rodney began, backing away. Wonderbot whimpered as it hid behind its friend. 

“I gave you a warning to not come here!” 

“I didn’t mean any harm!” Rodney backed away more, Wonderbot now shaking completely with fear. 

“Do you understand what you could have done?! You could have destroyed us all!” By then, there were tears forming in her eyes, but Rodney nor the Princess were too trapped in the occurrence to know this. At the end of her sentence, her wings knocked over a table and one of her empty easels. 

“Please, stop!” Rodney begged as he backed away to a wardrobe. Wonderbot yelled terrified, now hiding underneath its cup in Rodney’s hands. 

“GET OUT OF HERE! GET OUT!!!!” The Princess yelled. Her wings began gleaming a bright orange-red light, enlightening the dark room for a second. 

Rodney didn’t hesitate as he dashed out towards the doors, Wonderbot safely in his hands. The fear in his mind and the shouts of the Princess with things being thrashed around spurred him to run faster than he believed in his life. 

However, after the glows of her wings have died, her eyes, now changing from fiery red to their original golden-and-blue color, widened at what she had unintentionally done. Tears began to form as the realization gradually dawned on her. When she spoke again, there was no growl in her tone this time. 

“Oh, God...no…” The Princess fell to her knees, her hand covering her mouth. Her sobs were muffled under her palm.

Rodney dashed down the stairs, not forgetting to grab his cloak on the way down. He was too focused on his escape that he didn’t acknowledge speeding past Cody and Matt.

“W-wait! Where are you going?!” Cody asked him confused. 

“Promise or no promise, I’m not staying here another minute!” Rodney stated before opening the door, even when the snow blew hard. 

“No, no, please! Please, wait!” Matt begged, but the door had already closed. 

“What happened? What’s going on?” Nabel and the Rusties quickly rushed in, having heard the commotion. 

“It’s Rodney! He’s left! He’s gonna get himself killed!” Matt yelled in a panic.

“What?” Nabel gasped as well as the Rusties and Aunt Fanny. 

“Oh, dear! Someone find the Princess and knock some sense into her!” Sam cried, and Nabel didn’t hesitate to rush up to the West Wing to warn her sister. If Rodney gets hurt, she knew for sure that she’d never forgive herself...


	11. Fire-Hearted Savior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: contains blood and animal attacks

With Wonderbot safely in his arms, Rodney rode on Cappy’s horse and darted through the gates, leaving the tracks in the snowy ground to be lost in the wind. As the snow fell heavily outside, the blue-haired man dashed through the woods on the horse.

He felt guilty for leaving behind the people in the castle. They were friendly and welcoming to him. But staying behind to face the wrath of the Princess would mean facing a bitter end.

A few birds flew from behind the fallen trees in the woods, forcing the horse to neigh in terror and kicked back and forth, uneasy with the ominous feeling in the forests. Rodney also grew uncomfortable with running away. Maybe he should’ve waited until morning, but that would mean having to stay and deal with her anger.

When he looked to his side, a terrified gasp escaped his lips.

A group of wolves, the ones that had chased Cappy before he came here, snarled viciously, studying their prey with greed.

Rodney didn’t hesitate to pull on the reins, whipping them, and steered the horse through the path, hoping that it would lead them to safety. Unfortunately, the wolves started chasing them as well, their growls and barking filling the now terror-filled atmosphere.

While the horse broke through a branch, Rodney ducked down and avoided being hit. At one point, one of the wolves caught up with them and tried to attack him, but he drove it straight into a tree.

Despite the fact that he was still terrified as hell, he glanced behind him to find the pack catching up with them. He wasn’t looking, however, and fell straight into a frozen lake with the horse. As the equestrian animal swam with ease across the cold waters, some of the wolves struggled to swim, a few had drowned by then. The horse managed to escape the frozen waters and started on the dry ground again.

More of the wolves, which had been brought to the ruckus, instantly appeared in front of them, blocking their path. With that, Rodney was flung off the horse and yelled before hitting the ground. The reins got tied up on the branch, leaving the horse with no chance of escape. Rodney pulled himself off the ground and spotted his friend’s horse in danger. Before one of the wolves that had jumped on his back could kill him, Rodney knocked it off with a branch and tried to get him free.

The pack started to surround them, and Rodney began swinging the branch at them as best as he could. However, one of them grabbed it from his hands before another pulled him down by the cape. When a different one approached him, ready to take him out, Rodney screamed, shielding himself with his arm.

Before the wolf could even kill him, however, a figure appeared out of nowhere and tackled it to the ground. She stood back up and threw it to the side and stood over Rodney protectively. Her eyes, blazing with determination and anger-not at him, but at the predatory creatures-burned as the once golden-blue orbs had changed to fiery red, darting from one approaching wolf to another. Her wings gradually glowed golden, ready for combat if necessary.

For the first time since Rodney saw her, her eyes were burning murderous intent, her teeth gritting against each other. Her eyebrows furrowed in anger at her opponents.

The second she pounced at them, the wolves snarled and attacked her head-on. As one went to attack her, the Princess smacked one away with her wing before more ambushed her. With some biting on her arms and scratching on her back, the Princess let out pained cries, but she kept on fighting. She was glad she was taught self-defense and combat skills before the curse happened. She didn’t know how long it had been since she forgot her training...until Rodney had been put in danger.

Nevertheless, her mind was focused on one thing: saving him from becoming the wolves’ meal.

Rodney watched on horrified as he stood next to the horse, his eyes wide with terror. After she threw one of the wolves off of her back, the Princess continued to battle with the wolves, despite receiving several wounds on her arms and legs. Her shirt and comprise pants were nearly shredded from the claws and teeth of the wolves, but she paid no mind to that.

With her patience already wearing out, she threw the alpha wolf at a tree before she roared at them. Her glowing wings expanded out, revealing the full of them to her opponents. Her explosion echoed across the forests, sending a few birds flying from the branches they were resting on. Her roar of violence also sent the wolves scurrying away, their fallen alpha gone and their victory lost.

Rodney could only stand there in shock and astonishment as the Princess turned to him gradually. Her arm on her right side was revealed to be scratched, blood dripping down from the wound. Her eye color slowly changed back to their golden-blue hues, her eyes half-lidded. A faint smile formed, relieved that Rodney was all right and unharmed. Before she could say anything, however, her eyes rolled back, and she fell to the ground in a dead faint.

Rodney turned to the horse but stopped. For a brief moment, he thought about leaving her. But his mind wandered back to the staff and the Rusties in the castle. If he left her there, they’d have no chance of surviving on their own. And on the other hand, freedom is only just one ride away.

Sighing through his nose, Rodney rushed back to the Princess before removing his cloak and covering her up as tightly as he could. With Wonderbot, who had woken up from its scared slumber, helping her on the horse, they made their way back, the Princess dead asleep on the saddle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It didn’t take long for the staff and Rusties to help out bringing the gravely injured Princess to the main room before she woke up again. As she sat in the King’s chair, Rodney poured the hot water in the bowl and soaked the towel before wringing it dry. He was thankful that his parents taught him how to heal wounds before they could get infected.

As he glanced up, the Princess gently touched her badly wounded arm. “Here, now,” he shuffled his way to her. “Don’t do that.”

The Princess pulled her arm away defensively. The staff and Rusties backed away a bit.

“Just...hold still!” Rodney tried putting the tag on her arm again, but she avoided it a few times.

When he finally got the towel on her, she yelled in agony. Her roar scared the Rusties and staff to hide somewhere.

“That hurts!” The Phoenix shouted, forcing Rodney’s hair to move from her voice.

“If you’d hold still, it wouldn't hurt as much!” Rodney told her.

“If you hadn’t run away, this wouldn’t have happened!”

“If you hadn’t frightened me, I wouldn’t have run away!” Rodney argued and folded his arms. The Phoenix opened her mouth to argue but came up with nothing for a short moment.

“Well, you shouldn’t have been in the West Wing!” She smirked, as if she was winning the argument.

“Well, you should learn to control your anger,” Rodney finished sternly.

The Rusties and Gang peeked from behind their hiding place.

“Now hold still. This might sting a little.” Rodney placed the towel on her arm, and the Phoenix grimaced in pain, turning away.

Rodney stopped for a moment before continuing to clean her wound. “By the way...thank you...for saving my life.”

The Phoenix looked back at him and beamed a bit. “You’re welcome…”


End file.
